Philips says its Epiq ultrasound systems offer faster exams and more confident diagnosis thanks to AI-assisted workflow and quantitative measurement functions. [Photo courtesy of Philips]
That’s according to the device developer and manufacturer’s 10th annual Future Health Index. Philips — the world’s sixth-largest device company, according to the Medical Design & Outsourcing Medtech Big 100 — commissioned the survey of more than 1,900 healthcare professionals and 16,000 patients across the globe.
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In that survey, 79% of healthcare professionals were optimistic that AI could improve patient outcomes, compared to 59% of patients who were optimistic that AI can improve healthcare.
And so far, doctors and nurses reported being let down by AI tools they’ve tried, Philips EVP and Chief Innovation and Strategy Officer Shez Partovi said in a Medical Design & Outsourcing interview ahead of the report’s release.
Philips EVP, Chief Innovation and Strategy Officer and Enterprise Informatics Chief Business Leader Shez Partovi [Photo courtesy of Philips]
The latest Philips report offered five recommendations for building trust in healthcare AI with patients and professionals, excerpted below with additional commentary from Partovi.
1. Put people first in AI design
“AI must be designed around the needs of both patients and healthcare professionals,” the report said. “Involving the right stakeholders from the beginning and throughout the process is essential for building trust and acceptance. Solutions should seamlessly support patient health routines and integrate into healthcare workflows and IT infrastructures, creating a frictionless experience for healthcare professionals and improving patient outcomes.”
Partovi pointed to another survey finding: Patients and healthcare professionals alike wanted to maintain or increase their face-to-face time with each other.
“They want AI to make everything else go away other than the crucible of that interaction between patient and physician,” he said. “It’s a really incredible realization that if you’re a builder of technology, you need to make yourself disappear.”
2. Enhance human-AI collaboration
“AI’s true potential lies in enhancing healthcare professionals’ abilities and empowering patients and caregivers to manage health and well-being,” the report said. “While AI agents may handle certain tasks autonomously, human supervision remains essential when health is at stake. Healthcare professionals play a critical role in building patient trust through transparent communication about the role of AI, supported by comprehensive training starting from the beginning of their education.”
Partovi said patient optimism in AI’s ability to help rises to 85% when a healthcare provider is involved in the final decision-making: “Patients said, ‘If the technology you’re using is for operational things like scheduling and check-in, I’ll trust it more. But if you are using this AI-embedded technology to diagnose me, to treat me, to give me a prognosis, I will trust it more if there’s a doctor in the loop, if there’s a nurse in the loop.'”
3. Demonstrate efficacy and fairness
“Both healthcare professionals and patients want assurance that AI works as intended, while regulators require evidence that it meets safety and performance standards,” the report said. “Consistent performance across relevant patient groups and clinical contexts is essential, along with safeguards against bias to support non-discriminatory outcomes. Using representative, high-quality data sets during development and validation can help mitigate biases and ensure fair outcomes for every patient.”
Beyond talking about what an AI-powered featured is, Partovi said, show how it will improve patient outcomes or lower costs.
“Lead with impact,” he said. “Do your studies. Demonstrate the efficacy. Don’t just say we have a beautiful feature. … Tell me what [it] is going to do, say you measured it, because that way as an industry you raise the bar.”
With regards to fairness, device developers need to build AI models with diverse data so they can be fine-tuned to be applicable for the relevant patient populations, Partovi said.
4. Enable innovation with clear guardrails
“To accelerate the delivery of potentially life-saving AI to patients, regulations should evolve to balance speed of innovation with safeguards that protect patients and build trust,” the report said. “Global harmonization of regulatory frameworks can reduce complexity and enable faster access to innovation without compromising on patient safety. Approaches like regulatory sandboxes can enable the responsible development and monitoring of AI, while maintaining consistent application of medical device regulations.”
Clear, unambiguous regulations are needed to encourage innovation without sacrificing safety, Partovi said.
“Our call to action is asking our regulators to do what [they] do — but clearly — so we know exactly what’s the right side and what’s not accepted,” he said.
5. Build strong cross-sector partnerships
“In healthcare, no one can go at it alone,” the report said. “Close collaboration across all ecosystem players — including healthcare organizations and professionals, patient groups, payors, policymakers, regulators, researchers and the health tech industry — is crucial for driving innovation and creating solutions that meet stakeholder needs and build trust. Aligned goals and incentives, including payment models, are essential to focus on what matters most: improving the health and wellbeing of patients and healthcare professionals.”
Partovi said the medtech industry needs to collaborate with health systems, startups and regulators to take on the many challenges and headwinds facing healthcare.
“There’s no winner-take-all,” he said. “… It is awfully tempting to be tech-forward. You have to invest in your customer’s problems, not in your ideas. And if [device developers and manufacturers] invest in customer problems rather than their ideas, everything they build will have a market.”
You can read the full Future Health Index 2025 report at the Philips website.
